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| Jurisdiction | Government of Virginia |
| Headquarters | 600 East Main Street, 24th Floor, Richmond, Virginia 23219 37°32′24″N77°26′20″W / 37.54003°N 77.43899°W /37.54003; -77.43899 |
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| Website | www |
TheVirginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is adepartment of thegovernment of Virginia, United States; it oversees allVirginia state parks andNatural Area Preserves.[1]
The Virginia State Commission of Conservation and Development was created in 1926 under GovernorHarry F. Byrd to consolidate and coordinate several conservation agencies: the Water Power and Development Commission, the State Geological Commission, the State Geological Survey, Office of the State Geologist, Office of the State Forester, and the Division of Parks.William E. Carson (1870–1942) was the commission's first (unpaid) chairman and served until resigning pending a reorganization that became effective in late December 1934 and which authorized a full-time state employee to head the agency. Carson consolidated what under his successorWilbur C. Hall (1935–1939), becameShenandoah National Park, as well as coordinated with the federal Department of the Interior andCivilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which created a $5 million system of state parks (in exchange for Virginia appropriations of $100,000 which some called "the biggest bargain of theNew Deal").[2] Also during Carson's chairmanship, GovernorJohn Garland Pollard in 1932 accepted several land parcels in and surroundingRichmond, Virginia, which in March 1936 becameRichmond National Battlefield Park after being given to theNational Park Service because during theGreat Depression the Commonwealth lacked funds to develop and maintain those lands and structures.[3] Carson also created a Division of History and Archaeology within the State Commission of Conservation and Development and started a historical marker program.[4]
Virginia's first six state parks were created in June 1936 despite the opposition of Virginia's senatorsCarter Glass and Harry F. Byrd to many other aspects of PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt's administration. The first state parks were:Westmoreland State Park, Seashore State Park (which later becameFirst Landing State Park),Fairy Stone State Park,Staunton River State Park,Douthat State Park andHungry Mother State Park. CCC labor also built Prince William Recreational Development Area (nowPrince William Forest Park operated by the National Park Service) and Swift Run Recreational Demonstration Areas (nowPocahontas State Park) as group camping areas, which were later converted into parks.[5] In these and other projects, the CCC employed 107,210 in Virginia at one time or another, including 64,762 young Virginians who planted 15.2 million trees, built 986 bridges, reduced fire hazards over 152,000 acres, strung 2,128 miles of telephone line and stocked 1.3 million fish. Virginia received the fifth largest state expenditure in the country, totaling $109 million during the agency's nine-year existence.[3]
The agency's name changed in 1938 to the Virginia Conservation Commission, which was led by N. Clarence Smith (1939–1942), and William A. Wright (1942–1948). In 1948 theVirginia General Assembly again reorganized state government and created the Department of Conservation and Development, which consolidated the functions of the Conservation Commission, State Port Authority and the State Planning Board. GovernorWilliam Tuck named Wright as director of the new Department of Conservation and Development. In 1985, another major governmental reorganization created the current Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
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